If you don’t like quinoa, we can’t be friends.
Quinoa {keen-wa} – is it a seed? Is it a grain? A debate we are not here to discuss because there is a more pressing issue: eating it.
Its my favourite thing to eat at home, however i find that whenever eating out, not many people know how to cook it. I mean, soggy quinoa is the absolute worst imma right? Thankfully I attended a cooking course with the local culinary queen: Vicky Bishop and I learnt how to make quinoa properly. Life changed.
So, to not faf around with paragraphs you’re not going to read, here is my go-to quinoa recipe which I make in bulk + recipe ideas to jazz it up for your daily meals.
BASIC QUINOA RECIPE:
Ingredients:500g Quinoa
2-3 Tbsp Marigold Powder Stock
2 Tbsp Mixed Italian Herbs
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
1 Ltr Boiling Water
Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 160 Degrees C.
2. Add quinoa into a large saucepan (one that doesn’t have plastic as you’ll be putting it into the oven in a bit) and roast quinoa on medium heat until golden.
3. Leave to cool completely.
4. Add remaining ingredients and mix – at this point feel free to add any sort of herbs/spices and flavourings. We’ve made it before with moroccan spices like cous cous, with sautéed veg or even like a paella with the very same basic recipe.
5. Place in oven and cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 mins or so. The quinoa should eventually soak up all the water, however if you find that your quinoa isn’t fluffy yet just go adding water as you see… The end result should be super fluffy quinoa.
Once you have your tuppa full of quinoa, here are some recipes that’ll make it come to life… ready to tackle your meal prep for the days ahead:
EGG-FRIED QUINOA
Ingredients:
1 Cup Cooked Quinoa
5 Egg Whites
2-3 Tbsp Soy Sauce (Or Tamari if needed gluten-free)
Sprinkle of salt
Method:
1. Heat a pan on medium heat with a bit of spray oil.
2. Once hot, pour the egg whites and salt and cook like you would scrambled egg, moving around until egg is mostly cooked.
3. Add quinoa and soy sauce and mix together, keep moving until egg has fully cooked through.
4. Remove from heat and enjoy.
LENTIL MEATBALLS WITH QUINOA
Follow our Lentil ‘Meat’ Ball recipe and enjoy on a bed of your ready made quinoa.
RICE WRAPS WITH VEGGIES & QUINOA
Ingredients:
2 Rice Wraps*
40g Avocado (Sliced)
50g Roasted Sweet Potato Cubes
50g Spiced Tofu (optional) 1 Tbsp Spicy Brava Sauce
Sprinkle of salt
Large bowl with lukewarm water
*You can find these in the chinese food section in most supermarkets or grocery stores.
Method:
1. Prepare all your ingredients and a large chopping board next to your bowl of lukewarm water
2. Grab a rice wrap and immerse it into the lukewarm water until fully covered for about 3 seconds so that it goes a bit soft but still manageable.
3. Lay carefully onto chopping board and repeat (2.) with second rice wrap. Place second wrap with half of it overlapping the first.
4. Layer ingredients as you please.
5. Roll wrap together carefully, tucking in the edges before wrapping fully.
6. Drizzle with the spicy brava sauce and enjoy!
LENTIL STEW WITH QUINOA
Ingredients:
500g (Cooked) Pardina Lentils
100g Mixed Frozen Peppers
1 Chopped Onion
1 Tbsp Frozen Garlic
Handful Chopped Basil
4 Tbsp Marigold Vegan Stock
6 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
2 Tbsp Italian Herbs
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1.5 Ltr Water (Boiling)
100g Roasted Sweet Potato Cubes
2 Cups Cooked Quinoa
Sprinkle of salt & pepper
Method:
1. We pre-cooked the lentils for this recipe, but you can also use can or jar lentils which come ready made.
2. In a large sauce pan bring olive oil to heat on a medium setting, then add onions and garlic. Once onions have softened slightly, add mixed frozen peppers and keep moving until peppers have softened too.
3. Add all the remaining ingredients, except for the quinoa and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and leave simmering for approx 15mins.
6. Fold in quinoa and leave simmering for another 10mins.
7. Remove from heat and leave to settle, then enjoy or pack it up for the next day.
Note: The lentils will settle even more if you store them for the next day, so dont worry if you think they have perhaps come out too liquid(ey).
This recipe is made to suit my preferred tastes, but you can add/ swap ingredients and flavours as you see fit.
Hope you enjoyed these recipes! Please tag us if you make them, we love seeing you re-make our creations 🙂
Recipes created by @themusclebaker
